GREMLINS. I didn't think it was a particularly great film – in fact I preferred the sequel. But it was certainly popular, and it spawned an inordinate amount of rip-offs from GHOULIES to CRITTERS and even MUNCHIES(!). But the cheapest, cheesiest, dumbest rip-off has definitely got to be LITTLE DEVILS: THE BIRTH, a no-budget hopeless attempt at film-making which was marketed as the first in the series but died on release, meaning that no sequels followed. And we can thank goodness for small mercies in relation to that one. But for some strange, bizarre, muddy reason, I really enjoyed watching this attempt at movie-making; in fact I got a real kick out of it. It's one of those films I watched as a kid, and returned to in adult life out of curiosity. And hey, what do you know, the film is actually pretty decent despite the odds stacked against it.The film has a great script. No, I'm serious. The lead writes cheesy porn for a living so there is plenty of interest out of that. The actor playing him doesn't take things too seriously and there's plenty of comedy for him to get involved in, so you end up liking him. There are many diverse and bizarre characters in support, from the criminal and his goon to the bizarre homeless gang. Russ Tamblyn (remember him from WEST SIDE STORY?) is in it too, as 'Doc', a good buddy who helps fight off the critters once the action starts. Tamblyn genuinely appears to be enjoying himself and having a laugh about it all, which transfers across to the viewer nicely. Stella Stevens also turns up in a manic turn as an ageing temptress who wanders around in black leather bondage gear. Although she was pushing sixty when this film was made, there's something about her presence you can't help but enjoy.It takes a heck of a time for the action to start, but see, I enjoyed the build-up more than the pay-off. The script manages to retain interest and there are some fun, cheesy effects to enjoy, especially the little monsters. I kinda thought they might use stop-motion but no, instead we get hand-held puppets instead. Oh well. There's a gore scene where a lady gets her face dissolved, a fair few people getting burnt, and plenty of squishy dissolutions come the climax when the monsters are dissolved with lemonade. Yes, you heard me right.Okay, so to put it bluntly, this film is a piece of junk. But who cares? It knows it is, and takes the mickey out of itself, so you can't help but get into the spirit of things. Me, I enjoyed the heck out of it, much more than if I were watching some middling horror flick like SCREAM 2. It just has that atmosphere about it which makes it irresistible. Give it a chance if you're willing to keep your tolerance level high; you might find yourself being pleasantly surprised.
... View MoreGeorge Pavlou is a peculiar filmmaker. He only made three movies. His debut - "Underworld" aka "Transmutations" (1985) - was somewhat interesting, as it was based on a Clive Barker short story. His second film is a true guilty pleasure amongst many horror fans and yet another adaptation of a Clive Barker story, the creature feature "Rawhead Rex" (1986). To put it bluntly, "Little Devils: The Birth" (1993) is a worse movie than the aforementioned two titles and was accomplished on a much smaller budget, which shows. But somehow Pavlou's third effort didn't turn out a complete failure as well. It's along the (budgetary) lines of independent horror pulp like, let's say, Michael Krueger's "Mindkiller" (1987) and Frank Henenlotter's "Brain Damage" (1988). Though Pavlou's film is mixed with a pretty dumb form of comedy and is more along the vein of movies like Tina Hirsch's "Munchies" (1987) and John Carl Buechler's "Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go To College" (1991).A wacky scientist discovers some puddle of red mud from hell in some tomb on some graveyard. Nevermind what it is exactly or how it got there in the first place. Fact is, the dude collects samples of the demon mud, takes it home to his apartment, becomes under the influence of it and starts sculpting little red demonic critters. Soon they run amok, armed with miniature flamethrowers, machine guns or arrow projectiles; first in the building, then in the neighbourhood. The first half of this heap of low budget nonsense is pretty horrible. The attempts at comedy in the screenplay don't work at all and the acting is below par. Not to mention that the whole thing looks cheaply shot, obviously. But still you can sense the filmmakers tried to make this peculiar mix of elements work and the characters that are introduced are rather likable as opposed to annoying. Nevermind that the script features plot holes the size of Tokyo and doesn't bother to explain anything.I expected this flick to be a 3/10 affair all the way through, but the third act picks up on silly miniature demonoid fun. There's about seven of those little red rubber animatronic devils running around, and they all get melted or blown up in one way or another. And the climax features a humanoid demon with even more silly make-up effects. In the end, you've been watching a nonsensical horror comedy, a full-blooded B-movie for sure. By far not a good film, of course, but it manages to have a certain charm at some moments. If you dig Charles Band's more recent 'killer dolls' movies or if you're about 8 years old, you'll probably have some fun with "Little Devils: The Birth".
... View MoreI loved this movie i thought it was great. As you might know if you read my comment on demonic toys, i really like low budget horror movies that have virtually no plot and is all about the gore. The devils are great they run around with flamethrowers laughing there demon heads off as they mercilessly burn their victims. The victims are a typical bunch of losers from the mad scientist to the sex maniac land-lady the latter by the way you will be glad when she gets it. I have to say though i found the devils to be cute & funny with their glowing red eyes and their mischievous laugh, this could just be my twisted sense of humour but still. Anyway i recommend this to other fans of low budget horrors you WILL enjoy it!
... View MoreIn the beginning of the movie, you have a few hopes for that it will be interesting to watch. After about twenty minutes, your hopes are gone. Completely. This movie is silly, one of all the bad movies that mixes comedy and horror. It doesn't even seem that the writer had the intend to be serious with this film...Don't see this movie.
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